The Ballon d'Or is the single most prestigious prize a footballer can win and is awarded to the best player of the calendar year. Ever year it sparks controversy and this year is no different with no fewer than 59 players have been named in the so called “longlist”.
The only two English players who have been named on the shortlist are Harry Kane of Spurs and Wayne Rooney of Manchester United. The clubs with the most number of players on the list are Barcelona (Claudio Bravo, Javier Mascherano, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Luis Suárez and Ivan Rakitic) and Real Madrid (Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos) both with seven respectively.
German Champions Bayern Munich earn five names of the list (Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer).
In the Premier League, Manchester City boast five players on the list (Wilfried Bony, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi, and Kevin de Bruyne) and a notably absentee is David Silva who was overlooked by Wilfried Bony. Chelsea also have four player named (Diego Costa, Willian, Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard).
Serie A Champions and Champions League finalists Juventus have six players included (Giorgio Chiellini, Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata, Arturo Vidal, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez) and but Gianluigi Buffon did not make the cut.
Defiantly the biggest surprise of the list is the inclusion of Queen’s Park Rangers midfielder Massimo Luongo, who spent most of the year at League One Swindon. Luongo was included for his heroics in the Asia Cup, which saw him lead Australia to the title.
Leicester’s Shinji Okazaki also makes the list for his performances at the Asia Cup and in the Bundesliga for Mainz.
Another two shock inclusions are Christian Atsu of Bournemouth (on loan from Chelsea) and Andre Ayew of Swansea for their efforts at the Africa Cup of Nations for Ghana.
Two current MLS players, one player from the Argentinian League and one player from the Liga Do Brazil join Europe's elite in the form of Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Andrea Pirlo (NYC FC), Carlos Sanchez (River Plate) and Paolo Guerrero (Corinthians).
The full list: Claudio Bravo - Barcelona
Javier Mascherano - Barcelona
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
Lionel Messi - Barcelona
Ivan Rakitic - Barcelona
Neymar - Barcelona
Luis Suarez - Barcelona
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid
Karim Benzema - Real Madrid
Sergio Ramos - Real Madrid
Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
Luka Modric - Real Madrid
James Rodriguez - Real Madrid
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus
Paul Pogba - Juventus
Alvaro Morata - Juventus
Arturo Vidal - Juventus/Bayern
Andrea Pirlo - Juventus/NYCFC
Carlos Tevez - Juventus/Boca
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern
Arjen Robben - Bayern
David Alaba - Bayern
Thomas Muller - Bayern
Manuel Neuer - Bayern
Wilfried Bony - Manchester City
Yaya Toure - Manchester City
Sergio Aguero - Manchester City
Nicolas Otamendi - Valencia/Manchester City
Kevin de Bruyne - Wolfsburg/Manchester City
Diego Costa - Chelsea
Willian - Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois - Chelsea
Eden Hazard - Chelsea
Edinson Cavani - PSG
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - PSG
Javier Pastore - PSG
Wayne Rooney - Manchester United
David de Gea - Manchester United
Memphis Depay - PSV/Manchester United
David Ospina - Arsenal
Alexis Sanchez - Arsenal
Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid
Jackson Martinez - Porto/Atletico Madrid
Carlos Bacca - Sevilla/AC Milan
Giovani dos Santos - Villarreal/LA Galaxy
Phillippe Coutinho - Liverpool
Son Heung-Min - Leverkusen/Tottenham
Christian Atsu - Everton/Bournemouth
Paolo Guerrero - Flamengo/Corinthians
Eduardo Vargas - QPR/Hoffenheim
Gary Medel - Inter
Harry Kane - Tottenham
Alexandre Lacazette - Lyon
Andres Guardado - PSV
Carlos Sanchez - River Plate
Andre Ayew - Marseille/Swansea
Massimo Luongo - Swindon/QPR
Shinji Okazaki - Mainz/Leicester
Source: DSG
